The present invention relates to logistics equipment. In particular, the invention relates to dollies. More specifically, the invention relates to a fastener and dolly according to the preamble portions of the independent claims.
There is known a vast variety of different devices used for transporting parceled goods. Typically pieces or stacks thereof are loaded onto a wheeled platform, on which they are conveyed to shop floor or storage. These wheeled platforms are called dollies. Traditional dollies feature a rectangular chassis welded together from tubes having a rectangular profile. Fixed castors are secured to one end of the dolly by means of bolts or riveted joints. Each castor is typically fixed with four bolts. Fixed castors are such that the wheel of the castor is permanently aligned with one side of the dolly. At the opposite end of the dolly, castor wheels are provided with a similar bolt or riveted joint. Due to the articulated construction, the castor wheels may turn about an axis which is orthogonal to the axis of revolution of the wheel, i.e. about the vertical axis.
The top face of the dolly has wells or recesses for receiving the wheels of a superposed dolly. The wheels of fixed castors are received to recesses which are shaped such that the wheels fit tightly, whereby there is minimal play between the dollies. The wheels of castors, on the other hand, are received to a well which is formed by a plate having nodules welded to the plate. The nodules are used for providing lateral support for the wheel such that the wheel is locked into place, thus preventing movement of the castor joint during transportation of a dolly stack.
The present systems for attaching the wheels to a dolly and for positioning the wheels of the dollies when dollies are stacked upon each other are labor intensive and expensive because of the weld nodules for locking the castor wheel, four fasteners to assemble and screw in etc.
It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a simplified dolly, the castor wheels of which are locked into position. A further aim of one embodiment of the invention is to provide a dolly wherein the castor wheels are attached to the dolly by a single fastener. A further aim of another embodiment of the invention is to provide a dolly wherein a single fastener functions as a attachment means for the castor wheels as well as a positioning element.